ridebmxbikes

There was this one time I didn't go skydiving... But then I sold my xbox and got 3 jumps in

We use altimeters that tell us how high we are, eyes are another resource. After jumping for a while you can usually tell about how high you are.

every third saturday in october right?!

looks like a group over 6 but i don't understand why you need 500 jumps for this when we do it almost every weekend. this isn't a 100 way

Actually from what you are describing it sounds like its not the weight limit of the canopy that they are worried about but its the wingloading you will be at ( your full geared up exit weight vs the canopy square footage). The higher the wingloading the less room for error you have and as a student you will be full of errors(even for naturals). All students require a VERY light w/l. Maybe check around for other dropzones and see if someone else has the gear you need to get started. If there's no one else close to you then maybe you could call the Dropzone back up and ask them how much weight you'd have to lose to let you jump. Where there's a will there's a way! Good luck and blue skies!

hmmm... I've been wondering about that

Its not really crucial to get a tracking suit before wingsuit as there are beginner wingsuits. Learning his to track safely with others is really important to learn in terms of flight patterns and proximity to others. Ask someone at your dz about who likes tracking jumps and have them do some coaching on different body positions and how to fly a safe pattern.

i know one pays 40 for camera (video and stills) and the editor 10 per video.

well I've always heard cross brace flew like trucks when they are loaded light, the riser pressure was a little heavier than the katana but thats not saying much. toggle response felt close to the same and harness response felt nice. I've heard other people speak bad before about the katana and don't know what they are talking about. one guy recommended i get a velo 96 instead of another katana. i currently don't have a permanent canopy. i have a 93 fx, st107 and a pc. the st107 was bought as a back up between my katana downsize as its a pos cheap rag but i couldn't find a katana so i started playing with other stuff. now, I've never flown a velo at the wing loadings that it was made for but it still felt like a top notch canopy at 1.5! i understand about high performance canopies doesn't just equal high performance flight but high performance openings, malfunctions and turbulence interference. gotta keep things interesting somehow right?!

You don't need booties on an rw suit and it won't really hurt you having grippers on a ff suit(but you may look ridiculous). The main things on a ff suit are the cuffs around your ankles and wrists are strong enough to stay in place. So you can find a decent fitting rw suit without booties much like a student suit and modify the ankles and wrists if you need to and BAM! You have your all around suit. I'm not gonna get started about you ff at your jump numbers though as Im sure you've talked to some freeflyers at your dz on what you need to do to start good luck!

To no one in particular but you can't say these guys don't always have something invested. I see people buy 100 dollars worth of tickets and they win all kinds of stuff. Some they have no use for and can't sell and some they can sell. They see an opportunity to make their money back but they sometimes lose their as off and just get goggles and pull up cords for that money.

That's usually a good way to make sure your boss is no longer pissed at you. +1 Haha, I was more pissed at him than he was at me but you definitely need to know your worth and the job market before making a move like that and I got both on my side

Haha, that is true, just like some people shouldn't be driving cars. While Im sure Im not ready for a 2.0 w/l I wasn't ready for a sports car at 16 either. I see some people with smarter canopy choices scare the crap out of me and everybody else. Some people are more capable than others and Im going to get back on track to prove what Im capable of when the time comes. Although that velo was a sweet canopy Im gonna save it for when it deserves my worth and mad skillz.

Haha. Well that (qualified?) persons advice was to plain out on rears when I had 200 jumps when I just started doing 90s. I didn't get injured, just a sore tail bone for about 3 weeks. I see how I could be holding myself back too. Overtime I change canopies I have to re-adjust my pattern, figure out my dive altitudes, learn the slow flight of it. There's a lot to each canopy that Im not maxing out. Ill let you read some of the previous posts for the rest though. Edit to add my plan with this next canopy is to wring out every last bit of performance and make it piss itself before I go and further. This last purchase Was a impulse buy without much thinking but after some thinking I decided to rethink my original thought.

Hey! I've never said I don't take risks or that I don't see any dangers of the canopies I jump. I said I don't see the added risk from the katana to the velo. I did skip steps with this last parachute and have decided to take a step back. You are right that I am at a higher risk and I do do a lot of hop n pops or high pulls. If for nothing else I don't have to worry about the traffic and it gives me the freedom to do more drills.also Im not flying a velo, i jumped one. maybe ill get one after I throw another step and learn some more stuff. I appreciate your concern but I've figured out what I need to do and the step I need to take now.

My boss pissed me off today and Im going home! Why can't I live close to a 7 day a week dz?! I could really use a jump right now!

Yeah I've read that before in your next step post awhile back and that's another reason I didn't see a real problem with it. Its not the only time I've seen that posted either

Well like I said the I've only jumped the velo 103 once and it just really felt like a great canopy without any extra danger from the also ground hungry katana which was why I was asking. Even though I've only got 400 jumps I've been on a 120 now for 300 of them(started on a 135) and wanted something more responsive. I figured a 103 wasn't that far off from a 107. I really wasn't trying to push anything.

Yeah, I can only imagine what a wrap would be like. The thought is pretty scary. Thanks for the invite too but it may be a while before I venture that far... There's sooo much to do and sooo many places to go in this sport. Buying aother canopy is one expense I can think of. Edited to remove a statement that was already answered

Zlew- I should change my profile to 2 years in sport. I haven't experienced that shockwave, I've seen some bad injuries do none were close friends and and they weren't life threating. You have said some deep words and I don't want my friends to have to stand over me in worry. I will try to find another katana and try to stay away from the velo for a while. Topdocker- I have seen the the incident reports but not before I actually did it. I've only made a hand full docks but Im mostly filming it. Some of my crw was part of a canopy course. It was suppose to be no contact but it just didn't work out like we planned.as I have gone smaller since then and in light of the recent wraps Im just gonna stick to filming it. Craigbey- that's cheating

Zlew you are one of the people I forgot to mention. Maybe ill talk ti a friend and see if he'll let me try his katana 107. Going back to a quick recovering non diving canopy isn't an option though. At this phase Im trying anything and everything as you can see in my posts but minimum requirements is responsiveness and long dive. I'm definitely already taking a step back from what I just bought. I feel like I can handle it but don't want to find out I can't the hard way. I didn't feel like a 103 was really pushing it but maybe it was just because I jumped the 93 before it. Idk . I'm definitely going to evaluate the size choises. But Im having a really problem understanding if you are on your way to a velo, and a velo flys good at a light loading, and you are use to a katana. Then why now make the platform change at a lighter loading before you get to 1.8 on a katana and then go to a velo( platform change) @2.0?

Like I've said I've had excessive weight for a w/l of 1.44 and a 103 is only .6 difference. But what is that crossbrace design. I know its designed for high w/l but what's the extra danger of it when its loaded light (1.52) for its design when another canopy that noone bats and eyelashes to compared like the katana dives the same amount?

Doc- I grew up on a sabre, tried a katana and thought it was the best canopy out there. I've done up to 180's with it but kick ass at 90's. Some of the heavily loaded velo guys doing 270's don't get that much more than me when they do do a good swoop. After I sold my katana I had a downsized Stiletto till I could find another katana. Can't find one to save my life. Saw a 93 fx on a shelf in great condition for 300 and bought it. Sent it off with the rigger to get longer steering lines( I like mine set REALLY long) borrowed a 103 velo and am interested in upsizing to a velo 103 which my friend is trying to sell to me(which is the whole point of this conversation) or should I just keep looking for the katana. I'm not really into the fx even though I like the speed its not what I was looking for. Didn't know if there were any added dangers of a Crossbrace loaded lightly ( 1.55) when the dive and recovery arc aressimilar.thought I've taken basic and 2 advanced canopy courses I've learned hp canopy flight off here. I've read every thread pertaining to canopy control and learned who are the sensible one actually giving good info. Read so much I know Ian likes pink houses. I've taken advice from people I know and have only gotten hurt. Not from everyone but the any truly local knowledgeable person I know isn't around too often which is why I come to you guys.(doc, sparky , Ian, chuck, davekapela and a few others) I know what you say has a heavy weight.well I know doc is somewhat new and just moved to a velo but he does know the transition.

Yes, I've worn up to 16lbs of weights anytime I've done crew because most people I do crew with have highly loaded velos and I need it just to keep up with them. My swoops were good with the weights too

Spark- the reason Im asking is because other than the scary openings of the Crossbraces the recovery arc of the velo doesn't seem any more dangerous than the katana. The riser pressures have switched sides . Still able to out float most people and way more slow speed lift. Which the velo didn't seem to propose any more risk than the katana which is why Im reaching out to you guys. I was flying a katana 120 loaded at 1.3 which I have the most experience on. Recently put about 20 on a Stiletto 107 @1.48, 5 jumps on a 93 fx @ 1.7 and then I jumped the velo 103 @ 1.55ish. The velo makes me want to never flyanother fx again. I was really looking for another katana but after the velo, why not?